PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Some points I have made in this blog could prompt folks to believe I am against government.

No.

I support government.

Except that I want government to operate more effectively for the benefit of citizens, not for its own growth ends.

That applies to all government sectors, including the Executive and Legislative Branches, especially in Oregon where I have related to government for more than 40 years, as follows:

+ First, just out of college, I worked for a daily newspaper in Astoria, Oregon where my beat focused on city government, as well as another government agency, the Port of Astoria.

+ Second, I worked for about 15 years directly for government – in Portland, in Washington, D.C., and in Salem.

+ Third, I worked for almost 25 years a lobbyist in Salem, which meant that I related to legislators, to various governors and to other statewide elected officials, and to appointed officials in Executive Branch agencies.

Those experiences gave me a lot of time to develop perceptions about government — perceptions that, I believe, go beyond just the “for” and “against” perspectives of many of those running for office today, or, for that matter, to many of those who compete for high-level government appointments.

I have come to the following conclusions about government:

• I believe those who work for government should operate with the commitment that they have to earn their way every day. By that, I mean displaying a commitment to those they serve. One way to do this is to assume that, as a government employee, you have to earn revenue every day to support your operations – which is exactly what happens to those in the private sector who have to earn their way every day.
• I believe those who work for government should always do what they think is right, not necessarily what they believe could be politically popular.
• But, before doing what is right, I believe those who work for government should consider the views of others BEFORE resolving their own positions.
• This rests on my belief that those who work government should function as part of a team, given the reality that nothing good happens due to the individual work of one member of the team. It’s always the work of a team.
• I believe those who work for government should recognize the absolute importance of ethics, honesty and integrity as part of earning the public’s trust.
• I believe those who work government should exemplify the “your word is your bond ethic.”   Being true to your word (and, by the way, if you have to change your mind, no problem – just be clear and vocal about the need to do so) is one way to earn and retain credibility, which, if lost, will compromise any operation.
• I believe that, in the spirit of the phrase “what you see depends on where you sit,” those who work for government should recognize that that they don’t always have the right or the only answer to government action. Various viewpoints inform government processes.
• I believe most solutions to pressing public policy issues lie in the “smart middle ground,” not the extremes of either the left or the right. Government officials should recognize this reality.

If these commitments were lived out every day by those who work for government, government would earn the trust and support of more Americans than is currently the case.

And, we wouldn’t be experiencing the poles of the far left and the far right, which leave no apparent room for civility and centrist citizenship.

NOTE: Back to business today after a great Thanksgiving Day with family and friends yesterday. Still, I hope every day would be one in which we would give thanks for various blessings even as we watch our current political system careen from one issue to another.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

The Wall Street Journal – and other news outlets – reported a fact that ought to give left-leaning, tax-everybody liberals in California second thoughts.

The brokerage firm, Charles Schwab, decided to merge with TD Ameritrade and move the joint firm’s headquarters from California to Texas.

One reason?

High taxes.

Here’s what Wall Street Journal editorial writers said:

“Schwab will pay much lower taxes in Texas. The Lone Star State imposes a 0.75 per cent franchise tax on business margins (total revenue minus compensation), which is substantially less than the corporate tax rates in California (8.84 par cent) and Nebraska (7.81 per cent), where TD Ameritrade is currently headquartered. The city of San Francisco also imposes a 0.38 percent payroll tax and a 0.6 per cent gross receipts tax on financial service companies.

“Texas has no individual income tax, while the top rate on income and capital gains in California is 13.3 per cent, and the Lone Star State’s housing and energy costs are substantially lower. The average monthly rent in San Francisco is $3,870 compared to $1,200 in Dallas. Schwab workers and executives can have a higher standard of living, and more after-tax income, at the same salaries.”

What California liberals fail to realize is that, as they impose tax after tax to grow government, they sometimes achieve the opposite. Businesses that pay taxes and hire staff who pay taxes have options to leave in the face of those high taxes.

So, liberals lose.

They lose the revenue that would result from a lower, fairer tax structure.

It is a point I hope government officials in Oregon will consider, even as more taxes are imposed on businesses in a structure developed by the Democrats who are in charge across-the-board here.

Put another way, I hope what I call “the jobs issue” would take a high profile.

Government – both the Executive and Legislative Branches – should place a high value on jobs, either retaining them when they exist, or creating environments to help business establish new ones.

Two reasons.

First, those who hold jobs pay taxes to help fund government – and that should matter to all political figures on both the left and the right.

Second, for me, there is no better social program than for citizens to hold jobs and gain the benefits that result – money to fund their own existence and maintain their families without having to resort to government programs. Those programs that clearly have their place for individuals and families that are unable to find and keep work.

The lessons of Charles Schwab’s flight to Texas ought to carry lessons for California – and, by extension, for Oregon.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

This is a good day to take a respite from such issues as the impeachment process in Washington, D.C. – or other news with negative implications — and reflect on day when we should focus on being thankful.

For me, a good way to do this is to reprint here a piece by James Freeman that appeared in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) this morning. He chronicled stories of Americans volunteering at home and serving abroad in what he wrote should be a “day of thanks and charity.”

Here is Freeman’s column.

*******

Brad Harris and Celedonia Hunt at the annual Thanksgiving food distribution at the Salvation Army Corps Community Center in Pottsville, Pa. on Monday. Photo: Jacqueline Dormer/Associated Press

It’s the season for counting blessings, and one naturally thinks of the enormous sacrifices made on our behalf by Americans overseas. It’s also inspiring to see simple acts of charity occurring at home.

Dave Sutor reporrts in Johnstown, Pennsylvania’s Tribune-Democrat:

Two hundred guests came together to share a meal, camaraderie and holiday cheer during the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday.

Individuals in need of something to eat or just looking to spend time with some folks were welcomed, no questions asked… Roberta Kear, a military widow who recently moved to the area, spent time preparing plates of food in the kitchen.

This was her first year helping out at the dinner.

“My daughter is going to her boyfriend’s for Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d give my hand at volunteering,” Kear said. “I’m really enjoying myself.”

Similar events are taking place across the land. In Sherman, Texas, Michael Hutchins reports for the Herald Democrat that volunteers in the annual Bob Skaggs Memorial Food Drive are hoping to beat last year’s total by collecting 50 tons of donations.

The effort is named for a longtime participant “who would often save his vacation time in order to volunteer at the annual fundraiser.” Hutchins adds: “Major Tex Ellis with the Salvation Army of Grayson County said the food raised last year helped stock the organization’s food pantry for nearly a full year. This equated to nearly 20,000 meals and food gifts for nearly 9,000 families.”

This week Thanksgiving meals for the elderly will be delivered via a Meals on Wheels program. For readers in the area along the Red River known as “Texoma,” Hutchins has news you can use:

Ellis said the Salvation Army just got the final turkeys it needed for the meal, but is still in need of deserts, bread and most importantly volunteers to help prepare the food.

Meanwhile Jenny Berg reports in Minnesota’s St. Cloud Times that no registration is required and all will be welcome at a Thursday noon feast at the St. Cloud Salvation Army building. Berg reports that Kathy Finlayson has been helping prepare the Thanksgiving meal for about a decade and her husband volunteers to pour the coffee. Berg reports:

… When asked if the sweet potatoes will be adorned with brown sugar and marshmallows, Finlayson replied, “Oh yeah, we’re going to do it up right.”

… In addition to donations of ice cream and pumpkin pies from area businesses, the shelter received enough turkeys just in the nick of time.

“We had two turkeys about a week ago. We put a message on Facebook and now we’ve got 16,” Salvation Army Major Mike Parker said. “So we have plenty of turkeys for Thanksgiving.”

Plenty more will be needed further west. A staff report in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser notes:

The Salvation Army will be providing about 5,000 Thanksgiving meals through annual meal events at locations statewide, including the 49th annual Thanksgiving Meal at Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall in Honolulu for approximately 2,000 guests.

Back in Minnesota, Colleen Harrison reports in the Albert Lea Tribune on two friends who began volunteering through their church and have become Salvation Army regulars. Marilyn Zimmerman and Grace Bos, both of Hollandale, show up each week to help with food preparation, service and clean-up. Harrison reports:

“It’s nice to see the regulars at Thanksgiving,” Bos said… “We’ve been so blessed to be able to give back and help somebody. After all, we’re supposed to love one another.”

Speaking this week to another Army—and also to members of the Navy, Air Force, and Marines—Vice President Mike Pence told assembled U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq:

In gatherings large and small all across the country, I know there’ll be a place saved at Thanksgiving tables for each and every one of you. But I also know that millions of Americans, when they pause to reflect on what they’re thankful for, they’re going to breathe a prayer of thanksgiving for each and every one of you and all of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States deployed around the world. I promise you that.

The American people know that while you come from the rest of us, you’re the best of us. You volunteered to serve. And every American is proud of you and more thankful for your service than you’ll ever know.

… some people spend their entire lives wondering if they’ve made a difference. But you’ll never have that problem.

*********

So, using this reprint as a prod, I hope you spend your day being thankful – and that this day spurs you to think of Thanksgiving every day.

Further, as the WSJ piece by James Freeman reminds us, be thankful today, but remember and act on behalf of those who have special needs, such as clothing, shelter and friendship.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

On the eve of one of my favorite holidays of the year – Thanksgiving – I open this department, one of three where I serve as director.

The others are the Department of Pet Peeves and the Department of Just Saying.

Each has a place in today’s political scene. While I am thankful to be an American, I fear for the future of the country under the current president, Donald Trump. The fact is that, despite the impeachment process (which he is likely to survive), he could win a second term in 2020.

Perish the thought.

There are a number of competitors for the good quotes this time around. Here are three.

From columnist Dana Milbank in the Washington Post: “On Fox News on Sunday, Energy Secretary Rick Perry reported that he told Trump he was God’s choice: ‘I said, Mr. President, I know there are people that say you said you were the chosen one and I said, ‘You were.’”

“Who but a demon could vote to impeach God’s chosen one?

“The surest way to make a climate-change denier even more aggressive in his denial is to present him with more science. “Likewise, presenting Trump supporters with evidence of Trump’s wrongdoing only makes them more defiant of the demons doing the presenting. Scream about the facts and the damage done by ignoring them until you’re blue in the face (I do), but it makes no difference.”

Comment: To compare Trump to and with God is sacrilege. They don’t belong in same breath. So, huge criticisms for Perry who appears to be coddling Trump as a way to preserve his Cabinet position.

From Washington Post editorial writers: “As Post columnist Michael Gerson colorfully put it, “If you are a national security official working for a malignant, infantile, impulsive, authoritarian wannabe, you need to stay in your job as long as you can to mitigate whatever damage you can — before the mad king tires of your sanity and fires you.”

Comment: To revert to the first good quote worth remembering, this sounds like exactly like Perry. “If you are a national security official working for a malignant, infantile, impulsive, authoritarian winnable,” you want to stay in your job. Isn’t there a better objective than to stay around in a corrupt administration?

Plus, I say it’s time to be rid of all those who function as acolytes to and for Trump.

From columnist Michael Gerson in the Washington Post: “Trump’s complicity in spreading the Russian version of these events — and in disputing the one conspiracy theory that turns out to be valid — is partially understandable and partially mysterious.

“The president clearly views any admission that Russia aided his 2016 victory as a concession of electoral illegitimacy. But this comes in the context of a broader deference to Russian influence in Ukraine, the rest of Europe and the Middle East that indicates some deeper motive.

“Through all Trump’s erratic policy wanderings, submissiveness to Russian aims has remained his North Star.

“Is this explainable by sympathy for Putin’s ruling style, or secret admiration for a system in which journalists fear for their lives? Is it just a function of Trump’s general determination to free the world from U.S. influence? Or is some private interest at work?”

Comment: In a column that appeared under a headline calling into the question “the galling complicity of Republicans in standing by Trump,” Gerson nails it.

He writes: “Through all Trump’s erratic policy wanderings, submissiveness to Russian aims has remained his North Star.”

My view is that it is high time for those who say they lead America to recognize the threat from Russia and quit peddling falsehoods about Russian intentions. Trump may like despots like Putin, but his – Trump’s — acquiescence confounds America’s interests.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Does anyone care if newspapers go under these days? Especially in a time marked by the prevalence – if not, on occasion, the perversion – of social media.

As newspapers die around the country, some might not care.

I care.

If only because I started my professional career as a daily newspaper reporter and developed a love for the media.

A couple of sobering perspectives caught my attention this week.

One was from Les Zaitz, a former Oregonian newspaper reporter who also, at one time in the past, ran the Keizer, Oregon Times. He now serves as editor and CEO of the Salem Reporter, a journalistic endeavor that aims, on-line, to replace the nearly defunct Salem Statesman-Journal.

Here’s what Zaitz wrote:

“Last week was not a good week to keep up with news about my profession. Headline after headline, tweet after tweet, told the same story: Local news is in trouble.

“More layoffs. More consolidations. Less news.

“Most of the news involves major news chains. I doubt many local readers are too worried that corporate owners aren’t getting as fat as they once did. And with the explosion of online sources, the loss of a news outlet or two might not seem like much.

“But it does matter, and significantly.”

Here’s why, according to Zaitz:

“As local journalism declines, government officials conduct themselves with less integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness and corporate malfeasance goes unchecked. With the loss of local news, citizens are: Less likely to vote, less politically informed, and less likely to run for office.”

To buttress Zaitz point, I have been struck over the years about how little attention Salem’s remaining newspaper, the Statesman-Journal, has paid to state government which, until the newspaper moved its offices to the south, was just about five blocks from the Capitol.

Easy to walk down the street and monitor representative government in action. But, over the years, the Statesman-Journal paid less and less attention to government news, which, in many ways, gave rise to the still-new Salem Reporter.

Margaret Sullivan, media columnist for the Washington Post, caught my attention with a story she wrote on the decline of newspapers under this headline:

The death knell for local newspapers? It’s perilously close.

Sullivan said local newspaper survival “is of crucial importance to the future of the nation” because, she contended, citizens need to have sources of independent analysis of issues that matter to them where they live.

She reported new facts.

• Gannett and GateHouse, two major newspaper chains, finished their planned merger, and the combined company intends to cut the combined budget by at least $300 million. That will come on top of unending job losses over the past decade in the affected newsrooms of more than 500 papers.
• The McClatchy newspaper group — parent of the Herald and the Charlotte Observer — is so weighed down by debt and pension obligations that analysts think it is teetering on bankruptcy.
• And the storied Chicago Tribune on has fallen under the influence of Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that has strip-mined the other important papers it owns, including the Denver Post and the Mercury News in San Jose.

What happened to newspapers? Well, several developments combined to make staying alive difficult.

First, newspaper advertising began plummeting about a decade ago, given the rise of social media sites. Today, some newspapers try to re-generate some of the lost revenue by hosting advertising on their on-line sites, thought that pales in comparison to what they could generate in newspapers delivered to front doors.

Second, the impact of social media had its own, huge adverse affect on newspapers. New generations if citizens were taught to depend on on-line sites, not newspapers. And, if truth be told, even older folks like me often go on-line to read newspapers I used to hold in my ink-stained hands.

And, third, a number of reporters became their own stories rather than reporting news for citizen. In that way, they sucked the life out of dispassionate, fact-based reporting – and that, alone for me, raised questions about the efficacy of journalism.

Can anything be down about this foreboding trend – the loss of true journalism?

Only time will tell, though the future is not bright.

For me, I will continue every day to read venerable, journalistic products such as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times. By sifting and sorting through good writing in those newspapers, I will be able to continue to hone my own perceptions.

But note that each of these newspapers is a national publication, which, to state the obvious, does not focus on local news where I live in Salem, Oregon, or in Oregon as a state, for that matter.

So it is that I wish success for purposeful local journalism commitments such as that illustrated by the Salem Reporter. I subscribe and hope that others will, too.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

I draw this blog headline from a story in The Atlantic that pilloried California Representative Devin Nunes.

He deserves it.

As the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, he has conducted himself with disdain for everybody on the other side of the political aisle – or, for that matter, with those who testified =in the impeachment inquiry.

To say he is a defender if President Donald Trump is to utter an understatement.

I have been stunned about how badly he performed under the glare of publicity.

For instance, rather than mention the absolute seriousness of the process and then disagree with it as he continued to support Trump – a plausible position, given his Republican credentials –Nunes diverged off into disparaging everyone.

TV ratings he said would be low. The conduct of the chair of the Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, was offensive, Nunes said even as he Nunes, by protocol, sat directly next to Schiff.

Beyond that, Nunes has continued to propound untruths about how virtuous Trump is, how Ukraine sought to upend the Trump presidency (not true; by any reputable account, it was Russia, not Ukraine, that sought to compromise the 2016 election), and how various administrative officials came across as buffoons.

No. It is Nunes who is the buffoon.

According to The Atlantic, Nunes operates with no basis in fact or history. The on-line magazine goes on to characterize his approach in words with huge implications.

“He is not interested in talking with anyone who is interested in checking claims, or verifying statements. He is talking only with people locked into a closed and sealed knowledge system.

“This closed knowledge system entraps millions of Americans in a universe of untruth, in which Trump is a victim and the allegations against him are ‘fake news.’ The prisoners and victims of this system live in a dream-world of lies. Yet, it would not quite be accurate to describe them as uninformed. They are disinformed, and on a huge scale. The false-knowledge system supported by Nunes is closed and sealed, but also vast and intricate.”

Trump’s conduct to seek Ukraine’s help in his 2020 campaign, The Atlantic says, “is simple and straightforward. It can all be summarized in a few sentences of plain English: Trump wanted dirty help for his 2020 re-election campaign. He sent messages demanding that dirty help to the Ukrainians directly on the phone and via his henchmen. He stalled military aid to extort the help. The Ukrainians nearly surrendered, until the whistle-blower report reached Congress on September 9 and knocked loose the aid on September 11.”

Nunes doesn’t indicate that he cares. He parrots phrases he watches or hears on Fox News or on pro-Trump websites – such callout phrases as “Burisma.” “Hunter Biden.” “Where’s the whistle-blower?” “Vindman’s conflict of interests.” “Star chamber.” “#coup has started.”

More from The Atlantic:

“The accusations against Trump are direct and intelligible to any open mind. The defense of Trump resembles the Star Wars saga: A universe of storytelling, in multiple parts, much of it comprehensible only if you venture beyond the visual franchise to a huge appendix of fan fiction and Wikipedia pages.

“At Fox News, on talk radio, and on the web, American conservatives have built a communications system that effectively consolidates in-group identity. Much of the time, the talkers and listeners do not themselves understand what they are saying. They use key words and phrases as gang signs: Badges of identity that are recognized without necessarily being understood. This system of communication tightly bonds in-group members. That bond, in turn, exerts tremendous power over American politics.”

So, we have the far right (if “right” describes where Trump and acolytes reside) exerting “tremendous power over American politics.” Nunes is a key figure in this effort to subvert and control.

I wish him nothing but failure, hoping against hope that his diatribes will fall on at least a few deaf ears.

Further, late news over the last few days is that Nunes himself, with his staff, conducted on-site “investigations” in Ukraine designed to promote Trump conspiracy theories. For that, though he denies the effort, it appears he may be subject to a House Ethics Committee investigation if only because, for one thing, he used taxpayer money to go on his pro-Trump expedition.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

If you think of well-managed companies in America, solid writing may not leap quickly to mind.

But, for Amazon, writing is a hallmark of a solid operation.

For me, without setting out to compare myself to Amazon, I share the commitment to writing as a skill that can produce better thinking – and it was a commitment I employed through nearly 40 years of work in the public and private sectors.

All of this came to mind as I read a story in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) listing the “best managed companies” in America, a list topped by Amazon.

Here’s what the story said:

“This year, Amazon.com, Inc. unseated Apple Inc. to earn the No. 1 spot in the Management Top 250, an annual ranking that uses the principles of the late management guru Peter Drucker to identify the most effectively managed companies.

“A team of researchers at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker Institute compiles the list using dozens of data points to evaluate companies on five performance dimensions: Customer satisfaction, employee engagement and development, innovation, social responsibility, and financial strength.

“Those principles reflect the teachings of Drucker, long considered the father of modern management, who emphasized a comprehensive approach to leadership. He argued that highly functional organizations should benefit not only investors, but also society — a viewpoint that has gone in and out of vogue.”

And, here is a summary of the writing credential employed by Amazon:

“Longtime Amazon employees credit an intense focus on writing as part of the creative process for helping the organization sharpen its ideas and come up with new products and services.

“Amazon culture, set from the top down by founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos, has long shunned lengthy slide presentations. Instead, employees present a memo that can be no longer than six pages and that is silently read at the start of a meeting by everyone present.  Bezos praised the memo process in one of his letters to investors:  “Some have the clarity of angels singing,” he wrote.  “They are brilliant and thoughtful and set up the meeting for high-quality discussion.”

WSJ reported that getting the writing document right can become an obsession for Amazon employees as some of them repeatedly editing, soliciting feedback and aiming to be as succinct as possible. A memo can take weeks to perfect.

One Amazon employee, an engineer by training, says she never anticipated that she would be writing on the job. But after crafting dozens of memos, she’s found it to be an efficient way to exchange information and prompt a smart discussion.

So much so that she now says, “I despise PowerPoint.”

I digress to add that such a perspective – criticizing PowerPoint — would irritate a partner of I mine in the firm from which I retired several years ago, though I still serve there as an “emeritus partner.” My former partner is a solid writer and, it must be added, uses PowerPoint to good effect. For him, PowerPoint is not just a tool to display words on a screen. He uses it, with solid graphics, to illustrate what words mean and, in that way, makes good use of a system that gets better every time graphics appear.

For Amazon, memos have been at the root of a number of innovations, from Amazon’s Prime Now delivery service, which offers customers items in as little as an hour, to programs that were part of Amazon’s decision to retrain a third of its workforce.

One 21-year veteran of Amazon coaches her team not to solve too many technical problems in a memo or force a conclusion when one is uncertain. “If you do that, you end up watering down the project to average, because the technology likely doesn’t exist,” she says. “It’s something we may need to invent.”

Amazon’s Alexa, she reports, started with a vision presented in a memo, even though the company had to later build the technology to power it.

“You actually have to carve out space in your calendar and your brain to really be able to think and spend the time writing,” she says. “Especially if you’re trying to come up with something visionary that hasn’t been done before.”

So, for me, writing is a way to think more clearly. If you have to write something down, you often think through issues and implications more carefully.

Further, the challenge is not to write in any particular style; it is to write to communicate in words that can have a sense of rhythm, but also convey more than just the words themselves.  Good writing indicates good thinking – for Amazon and, I hope, for others.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

I said that yesterday’s post might – or at least should be – the last I wrote about impeachment.

I lied.

Which makes me a lot like President Donald Trump who lies for a living.

Today, I write to follow up on two articles I read in the Wall Street Journal this morning – one by a retired U.S. diplomatic official, David Seminara, and another by one of my favorite columnists, Peggy Noonan.

First, the retired diplomat, Seminara, wrote this:

“I think the House impeachment inquiry is a partisan fishing expedition, but as a former U.S. foreign-service officer, I tuned in to the hearings rooting for my erstwhile colleagues to acquit themselves well. Instead, the hearings were a made-for-TV spectacle in which foreign-service officers were used as props in a political drama.”

This critique caught my attention because, as I watched hours of the impeachment process this week, I was very interested in the conduct of the administrative officials who testified at the request, if not demand, of Democrats and Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee.

That was because, at one point in my career, I served in various administrative capacities in government, in both the Executive and Judicial Branches, albeit without the very high-profile nature of those who testified in Washington D.C. this week.

I found myself feeling just a bit of sympathy for them as they performed on a national stage, including with TV cameras whirring. No doubt they would rather have been back at work doing the down-to-the-earth business of government.

Were they, as alleged by Seminara above, “props in a political drama.” Perhaps, but I say they had very little choice.

Almost to a person, I thought they did a decent, workmanlike job of testifying to what they knew or thought. They came across generally as competent, reasonable public officials.

I could make an exception for Gordon Sondland, the person with Oregon connections who bought his way into an ambassadorship.

As has been the case with his actions as ambassador, he seemed clearly out of his depth on the national stage. As one of my partners in my old lobbying firm said, “he does what he does in a state of hubris.” Much of that owes to the fact that he enjoys telling people how rich he is and, as a hotelier with an acid tongue, sometimes acts like Trump.

Still, it should be said that his testimony, whatever his motivation, confirmed first-hand that Trump sold out American security interests for his own political ends.

During the proceedings, I also found myself wondering what it would be like to serve as staff to members of the Intelligence Committee because, without any of the profile of this process, that’s what I did when I was in Washington, D.C. many years ago – serve as staff to a congressman, one from Oregon.

Preparing drafts of public statements and question lists would have been what I would have been doing. So, seeing, on camera, some of staff in the background watching their bosses perform, brought back memories for me.

On to the columnist, Noonan. She wrote:

“What was said consistently undermined Trump’s case, but more deadly was what has never been said. In the two months since Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry was under way and the two weeks since the Intelligence Committee’s public hearings began, no one, even in the White House, has said anything like, “He wouldn’t do that!” or “That would be so unlike him.” His best friends know he would do it and it’s exactly like him.

“He not only doesn’t know where the line is; he has never wanted to know, so he can cross it with impunity, without consciousness of a bad act or one that might put him in danger. They were no match for his unpredictability and resentments, which at any moment could undo anything.”

Noonan gets it right – Trump crosses all normal political lines with impunity because he thinks he is above it all and he knows his supporters — almost unthinkingly, I add — will go along with him.

He doesn’t want to know about the lines of conduct and political behavior. If it was only that, it would be one thing. But his “unpredictability and resentments” have gotten the U.S. in trouble internationally, not to mention nationally, during his three years in the Oval Office. The very foundations of U.S. democracy are stake. The impeachment process is only the most recent instance of his hubris, to use that word again.

It remains likely that we, as Americans, will not see Trump leave office until the next election, if then.   Despite all of the evidence, the U.S. Senate is not likely to convict him. So, I say all of us should identify a candidate who can provide real, ethical, honest leadership for the country – and then elect him or her in 2020.

Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff put it very well as he ended the current roster of public hearings.

In a reference to Watergate, he said, “What we’ve seen here is far more serious than a third-rate burglary of the Democrat headquarters.”

NOTE:  This updates post from earlier this morning.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Well, at the moment at least, I cannot stop – reflecting and writing about impeachment.

In between games of golf – my priority – I have watched at least some of the impeachment hearings.

Not great TV if the goal is ratings, given the often-arcane nature of the testimony. The ranking member on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Representative Devin Nunes from California, announced in one of his opening statements that ratings would not be up – and he came across as thankful for that, given that he is a Trump defender.

To Nunes, I say who cares.

The point is not TV ratings. It is a serious process to assess the conduct of President Donald Trump and his apparent efforts to condition U.S. aid to Ukraine on getting dirt on one of his possible opponents in the 2020 presidential election.

As a government junkie, I also have been very interested in the interplay between and among federal agencies, especially the State Department, the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget.

Does Trump’s apparent conduct rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors?”

It’s a legal phrase better defined by my attorney friends than by me, a retired lobbyist.

But I answer yes.

For Trump and his acolytes to consider political favor conditions as being appropriate is a dereliction of public duty. The issue is Ukraine security, not dirt on one of Trump’s opponents.

Trump didn’t understand that, which is typical of his behavior – what he wants for his own aggrandizement always tops what is good for the country. It’s the same selfish, narcissism we have seen for three years now.

According to my on-line dictionary, “High crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct by officials. Offenses by officials also include ordinary crimes, but perhaps with different standards of proof and punishment than for non-officials, on the grounds that more is expected of officials by their oaths of office. Indeed, the offense may not even be a breach of criminal statute. See Harvard Law Review – ‘The majority view is that a president can legally be impeached for ‘intentional, evil deeds’ that ‘drastically subvert the Constitution and involve an unforgivable abuse of the presidency’ — even if those deeds didn’t violate any criminal laws.’”^[

That’s interesting stuff in the sense that, even the Harvard Law Review, opines that high crimes and misdemeanors can refer to misdeeds by a president “without violating any criminal laws.”

An attorney friend suggested that what the founding fathers meant by the phrase was more important that what the Harvard Law Review says now. Well, point taken, but who knows what the founding fathers meant? I prefer to take their language and reflect on what it means today so many years after the good words actually were put to paper.

Yesterday, Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, produced riveting testimony before the Intelligence Committee. He confirmed that there was a “quid pro quo” in the Trump Administration dealings with Ukraine, but not one in the normal business of international security negotiations. It was a deal related to getting the dirt Trump wanted on Joe Biden.

Sondland witnessed the Trump demands and heard what Trump said about what he wanted.

Here’s the way The Atlantic put it:

“…in his testimony today, Sondland seems to have found his sense of care. Systematically but consistently, he is undermining all of the pillars of Trump’s defense that he did not extort political assistance from Ukraine.

“Was it a quid pro quo? ‘The answer is yes.’ Were Sondland and others acting on their own? ‘We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and White House meeting reflected President Trump’s desires and requirements.’”

Trump defenders tried to deflect Sondland’s words by saying he was reflecting what he “thought” or “presumed,” rather than what he knew first hand.

But, for me, there can be little question but that Trump wanted something of benefit for his upcoming political campaign, not something for the good of the U.S.

To me, regardless of political affiliation, obstruction and witness intimidation are obviously “high crimes.”

Impeach the president in the House, then convict him in the Senate.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Well, at the moment at least, I cannot stop.

In between games of golf – my priority – I have watched some of the impeachment hearing.

Not great TV if the goal is ratings, given the often-arcane nature of the testimony. The ranking member on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Representative Devin Nunes from California, announced in one of his opening statements that ratings would not be up – and he came across as thankful for that, given that he is a Trump defender.

To Nunes, I say who cares.

The point is not TV ratings. It is a serious process to assess the conduct of President Donald Trump and his apparent efforts to condition U.S. aid to Ukraine on getting dirt on one of his possible opponents in the 2020 presidential election.

Does Trump’s apparent conduct rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors?”

It’s a legal phrase better defined by my attorney friends than by me, a retired lobbyist.

But I answer yes.

For Trump and his acolytes to consider such conditions as being appropriate is a dereliction of public duty. The issue is Ukraine security, not dirt on one of Trump’s opponents.

Trump didn’t understand that, which is typical of his behavior – what he wants for his own aggrandizement always tops what is good for the country. It’s the same selfish, narcissism we have seen for three years now.

According to my on-line dictionary, “High crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct by officials. Offenses by officials also include ordinary crimes, but perhaps with different standards of proof and punishment than for non-officials, on the grounds that more is expected of officials by their oaths of office. Indeed, the offense may not even be a breach of criminal statute. See Harvard Law Review – ‘The majority view is that a president can legally be impeached for ‘intentional, evil deeds’ that ‘drastically subvert the Constitution and involve an unforgivable abuse of the presidency’ — even if those deeds didn’t violate any criminal laws.’”^[

That’s interesting stuff in the sense that, even the Harvard Law Review, high crimes and misdemeanors can refer to misdeeds by a president “without violating any criminal laws.”

An attorney friend suggested that what the founding fathers meant by the phrase was more important that what the Harvard Law Review said. Well, point take, but who knows what the founding fathers meant? I prefer to take their language and reflect on what it means today so many years after the good words actually were used.

Yesterday, Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, produced riveting testimony before the Intelligence Committee. He confirmed that there was a “quid pro quo” in the Trump Administration dealings with Ukraine, but not one in the normal business of international security negotiations. It was a deal related to getting the dirt Trump wanted on Joe Biden.

Sondland witnessed the Trump demands and heard what Trump said about what he wanted.

Here’s the way The Atlantic put it:

“…in his testimony today, Sondland seems to have found his sense of care. Systematically but consistently, he is undermining all of the pillars of Trump’s defense that he did not extort political assistance from Ukraine.

“Was it a quid pro quo? ‘The answer is yes.’ Were Sondland and others acting on their own? ‘We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and White House meeting reflected President Trump’s desires and requirements.’”

Trump defenders tried to deflect Sondland’s words by saying he was reflecting what he “thought” or “presumed,” rather than what he knew.

But, for me, there can be little question but that Trump wanted something of benefit for his upcoming political campaign, not something for the good of the U.S.

To me, regardless of political affiliation, obstruction and witness intimidation are obviously “high crimes.”

Impeach the president in the House, then convict him in the Senate.